IPL 2020: Match 15 – RCB vs RR – Who Said What

In any T20 game, it is never easy to win a game after losing three wickets right in the powerplay. Things get that much more difficult when those three are the top batsmen of the team. That is exactly what happened for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). They lost Steve Smith and Sanju Samson early for 5 and 4 runs respectively. Jos Buttler then queued back to the pavilion after racing his way to 22 off 12 balls.

While it seemed as if it would be tough for the Royals to get to a respectable total from there, the youngsters took up the responsibility. The likes of Mahipal Lomror and Rahul Tewatia delivered with 47 and 24 runs. Riyan Parag, Robin Uthappa and Jofra Archer chipped in with scores of 16, 17 and 16 respectively as RR got to 154/6 in 20 overs. However, they seemed to be 15 to 20 runs short at the halfway mark.

The chase was quite an easy one for RCB. Even though they lost Aaron Finch early, Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli put together a wonderful partnership. They added 99 runs together before the left-hander got out after scoring 63 off 45 balls. The skipper then took over from there on and finished with 72 off 53 balls. AB de Villiers contributed with 12 runs as the Royal Challengers won by 8 wickets and 5 balls to spare. This is the third win out of four games this season for the team and they have also climbed up to the top of the points table.

Devdutt Padikkal, the RCB opener, said

It’s a different feeling [batting with Kohli], I’ve watched him from home so much since I was young and to bat with him is an unreal feeling. He just kept pushing me. I was getting tired, cramping up, but he pushed me. He said I need to see the team through. That’s how he bats and he was conveying that to me too. I’m just playing on the merit, watching as closely as I can and making a decision. It was hot, especially after fielding for 20 overs it was difficult to bat. Not pinching myself anymore, maybe after the first innings I was, now it’s just part of the job.

Steve Smith, the RR captain, said

We could have done a lot better. Didn’t get enough runs on the board, it was a good wicket. We couldn’t get a partnership together. Jofra bowled exceptionally, our leggies bowled well, but we didn’t have enough on the board. Our Top-3 should be doing the job a lot more. The last two games it’s cost us. We bat quite deep, but our top 3 need to bat longer and get ourselves into the innings.

[Mahipal] Lomror played nicely under pressure and to get 155, we didn’t look like getting that many; he played a mature innings. Just a few areas which we’ve to work on and we’ll go back and look at those. It was very hot, you come back for a two and takes a bit longer to get your oxygen back.

Virat Kohli, the RCB captain, said

Very important two points. The kind of game we had last time, it’s very important to back that up. It was warm, but coming from Dubai, this felt better because of the breeze. It’s a funny game, an amazing game and I was telling Jos that I love this game and hate it too; it’s something you need to understand [bad form] but when the team’s doing well, you get more time to apply yourself.

This tournament can get away from you very quickly. When you start losing initially, the games start going quickly and suddenly you realise 8 games are gone and you don’t have points. We need to keep up the momentum. There wasn’t much to reveal [to Devdutt] and I told Simon this guy’s got serious talent – reach, and a great eye. And a left-hander, very clean shots You hardly feel he’s taking risks, you get that feeling rarely at this level. Today he carried from 40 to 65 odd, so he’s a smart guy and he understands the game well.

Yuzvendra Chahal, the Man of the Match, said

I’m enjoying a lot because the grounds are bigger and I can flight more. When you come into bowl, when you get a wicket in the first over, it makes you confident. They take less chances and then I just vary the pace. I think Sanju’s wicket was the most special one. First ball I got wicket and I knew the wicket was slow. These boundaries are good for spinners. I miss Chinnaswamy, but here you can bowl the googles and the wide ones, and on the leg side because the boundaries are bigger.